Aerospace Diary

Neelam Mathews Nov 3, 2011 On SIA’s new medium-to-long-haul budget carrier, named Scoot with the first flight set for the end of the first half of 2012, CEO Campbell Wilson said: “We chose the name ‘Scoot’ for many reasons, not least because it’s different. Rather than the tried and tired ‘airlines’ this, ‘airways’ that or ‘air’ yawn, it’s short, sharp and snappy. It stands out.” “We have a very different attitude… We have a short, sharp name that exemplifies that attitude that we want more of our staff to have to interact with others. We have a unique attitude and we want our staff to have ‘Scootitude’,” he added. Scoot starts with a fleet of four Boeing 777-200 aircraft with plans for 14 aircraft by 2015. Scoot will not look to take any existing routes covered by SIA. It plans to fly to India, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Wilson told reporters at Scoot’s 01-Nov-2011 brand launch event in Singapore that the carrier will serve at least four routes within its first ...

Asia-Pacific Aviation Daily Jul 28 , 2010 , p. 11 Neelam Mathews Long-haul Malaysian budget carrier AirAsia X has received all approvals to start a twice-weekly service to Tehran Imam Khomeini Airport in Iran, starting Aug. 4. “It’s a market with potential. Iranians have a big middle class with disposable income and a desire to travel internationally. Malaysia accepts Iranian tourists without visa requirements, and there’s already an established Iranian expat community in Malaysia,” says CEO Azran Osman-Rani. Iran is also said to be interested in exploring links in the oil and gas sectors with Malaysia, which could increase business travel. The flight from Kuala Lumpur to Tehran takes about eight hours. The Malaysian air group is on a launch spree; on July 20, AirAsia started its eighth Indian destination—Hyderabad—since it began operating to the country in December 2008. The carrier also announced plans to start Kuala Lumpur-Delhi service in early August. AirAsia X flie...

News AWIN First Jun 10 , 2010 Neelam Mathews mathews.neelam@gmail.com NEW DELHI Air Asia Group says it will not merge all of its entities, putting speculation to rest after it announced a restructuring earlier this week. There is, instead, a move away from consolidating all businesses into a single investment entity toward having separate publicly listed entities that give investors clear choices to invest based on geographic zones, says Air Asia. The group is looking at a more focused business model even as its long-haul arm AirAsiaX launched in November 2007, reaches sufficient economies of scale to stand on its own. AirAsiaX will now take over employment of its own widebody pilots, cabin crew and ground staff, as well as its commercial and marketing team. It says this will enable it to aggressively pursue its own commercial strategy and better develop capabilities in long-haul services. AirAsia X CEO Azran Osman-Rani, on a recent visit to New Delhi, had told AviationWe...

Low-Cost carriers Aviation Daily Jun 04 , 2010 , p. 13 Neelam Mathews Malaysia-based AirAsiaX, affiliate of Asia’s largest budget carrier AirAsia, will launch its second Indian destination Aug. 4 with daily flights to Delhi from Kuala Lumpur. At the same time, AirAsia plans to expand its Indian network by adding frequencies from Delhi and Kolkata to Bangkok. By the end of the last quarter, AirAsiaX will start flights to Tokyo and Seoul, CEO Azran Osman-Rani tells The DAILY. “At the price of a taxi ride from the airport to town, we will provide an air ticket from Kuala Lumpur to Tokyo,” he adds. The carrier has been in lengthy talks with the Malaysian government for permission to start flights to Sydney — the turf of national carrier Malaysian Airlines — but has been unsuccessful so far, although it has no plans to give up. “This will be my fighting cause,” says Azran. AirAsiaX has announced 1,000 free seats booked online June 5 on the Delhi-Kuala Lumpur sector, for travel ...

News AirAsia Expands In India With Three New Routes Aviation Daily Nov 24 , 2009 , p. 07 Neelam Mathews AirAsia last week began daily flights to Kolkata from Kuala Lumpur, using an Airbus A320 Following the launch of Trichy flights last year, AirAsia maintained its commitment to expand its Indian network by launching three new routes from Kuala Lumpur — to Kolkata, Kochi and Trivandrum. The airline is looking at flying to Bengaluru (formerly Bangalore)and Hyderabad from KL next year, and its associate AirAsia X will fly to Mumbai and New Delhi. AirAsia is confident that the route will provide a positive boost for tourism activities and stimulate the local economies of India and Malaysia. “With Kolkata added to our extensive network, AirAsia is unlocking the potential of international air travel from Kuala Lumpur to eastern India and its surrounding areas. With the commencement of the direct service to Kuala Lumpur, the people in West Bengal and India may now use Kolkata as a gateway to...